Sluggish start to 2012 as growth momentum stalls

The good news is that there was a sharp upward revision in growth figures for the Irish economy in 2011, but on the downside the economy got off to sluggish start over the first three months of 2012.

According to the latest quarterly national accounts, the economy, which had originally been expected to see a 0.7% GDP growth rate last year, actually grew by 1.4%. That momentum was not carried through to this year however. The first quarter of 2012 saw a fall in GDP of 1.1% and a drop in GNP of 1.3%. The fall in GNP over the first quarter shows that the domestic economy continues to struggle.

An increase in exports in 2011 from an original estimate of 4.1% to an actual 5% was the main factor behind the upward revision in last year’s GDP.